Office relocation checklist: the strategic decisions, not the move-day logistics.
Search for 'office relocation checklist' and you'll find packing lists, vendor schedules and IT migration runbooks. None of that is the work that determines whether a relocation succeeds. The decisions that do — strategic fit, building potential, governance, change exposure — are taken twelve to twenty-four months before move-day. This article is the checklist for those.
T-24 to T-18 months: strategic decisions
Settle these before any address is signed:
- Strategic intent — what does the relocation enable that staying doesn't.
- Headcount and hybrid scenarios — three coherent paths, not a single forecast.
- Budget envelope including dual-running and disruption — not just fit-out.
- Stay-or-relocate evidence — formal comparison, not preference (see relocate or transform).
- Board mandate with explicit guardrails on cost, timing and scope.
T-18 to T-12 months: location and concept
This is where most projects accelerate too quickly:
- Location longlist against strategic criteria, not just availability.
- Building potential studies on the shortlist.
- Workplace concept aligned with office space planning evidence.
- Lease structure aligned with the multi-year housing strategy.
- Stakeholder map across HR, IT, FM, security, comms — owners identified, not just consulted.
T-12 to T-6 months: design, governance, change
The phase where parallel tracks need explicit coordination:
- Design progressing against the workplace concept, not detached from it.
- Governance ritual fixed — monthly operational, quarterly strategic, gated decisions documented.
- Risk register top-five reviewed at every quarterly board.
- Change programme started — not the week before move-day.
- Day-one services scoped: reception, catering, IT support, FM.
T-6 to T-0: execution and migration
The visible phase. By here, the hard work is mostly done:
- Fit-out commissioning against acceptance criteria.
- IT and AV cutover rehearsed, not assumed.
- Migration waves planned, including swing space and dual-running.
- Comms cadence to staff weekly.
- Day-one operational runbook with named owners.
T+0 to T+12: read the result
A relocation isn't done at move-day. The baseline KPIs set in the ROI framework are read against post-occupancy at month nine and again at month eighteen. Without that read, the project closes without ever proving its return — and the next investment starts from the same anecdote-driven baseline.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't IT migration higher on the checklist?
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It's critical but well-understood. The items above are the ones where most projects fail silently long before IT becomes the issue.
Do we need a dedicated programme manager?
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For a headquarters relocation, yes. Splitting the role across existing functions is the single most common cause of timing slippage.
What's a realistic dual-running cost?
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Three to nine months of overlapping occupancy is typical for a phased move. Modelling it as a contingency rather than a line item leads to predictable budget surprises.
Should we communicate the new address before contracts are signed?
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Almost never. The cost of retraction is far higher than the cost of waiting two weeks for legal close.
Relocate or transform: the question to settle before the project starts
Boards that frame relocate-or-transform as a preference end up with the wrong answer. Framed as a strategic and TCO question, the right answer becomes visible quickly.
Office space planning for headquarters: sizing before designing
Most space planning is a desk-count exercise dressed up as strategy. A board-grade plan starts with usage evidence and ends with a footprint defendable for a decade.
Measurable ROI on a headquarters: which KPIs actually matter
ROI on a workplace investment is dismissed as unmeasurable too easily. The truth is that the right KPIs, fixed before the project starts, make returns visible within twelve months.